Drew Doughty can’t officially start talking about a new contract with the Los Angeles Kings until July 1, 2018, a year before his current deal expires.
However, it doesn’t sound like the 2015-16 Norris Trophy-winning defenceman is clamouring for that day to come.
While reiterating his allegiance to the team that drafted him second overall in 2008 and expressing his love for the city, Doughty didn’t rule out an eventual departure from Los Angeles.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen. They may trade me in a year,” said the 27-year-old blueliner Thursday to Sid Seixeiro on Tim and Sid. “It’s out of my control. If the opportunity was there to re-sign with the Kings, I’d love to do that.
“But, at the same time, I may want to test the (free agent) waters. You never know what’s going to happen. It’s two years away.”
Doughty has played all nine of his NHL seasons with the Kings and recorded 12 goals and 44 points in 2016-17.
The Kings are in a state of uncertainty, having missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second time in three seasons since winning their second championship in 2014. They last qualified for the post-season in 2016, losing in the first round to the Stanley Cup finalist San Jose Sharks.
The subpar results led to the firings of coach Darryl Sutter and GM Dean Lombardi after the season. John Stevens and Rob Blake were promoted to replace them.
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Doughty said the removal of his bench boss wasn’t shocking, but Lombardi’s ouster both surprised and saddened him.
“I had a feeling that the coach thing was coming,” he said. “I think everyone felt that our players weren’t responding to our coach for a good year there.
“But I didn’t see the thing coming with Dean. I’m obviously sad to see them both go, but Dean was the guy who believed in me from day one. He drafted me. He gave me every opportunity to become the player I am today. He was awesome. I’m going to miss him a lot. I’m going to miss Darryl, too. He was awesome. He brought us two Cups.”
With the Kings outside of the playoffs, Doughty said he didn’t watch the first couple rounds. He became more interested as they progressed.
After commending the Pittsburgh Penguins for winning their second straight championship, Doughty admitted he was surprised the Nashville Predators were the runner up.
“Didn’t expect them to go to the final,” he said. “I knew how good of a team they were and getting P.K. (Subban) obviously helped them out. But I was surprised they made the final. I really was. I thought they were going to lose in the first round to Chicago. Kudos to them. They did a great job.”
The Penguins won the series in six games, winning the last two contests after the matchup was tied heading back to Pittsburgh. Doughty weighed in on the P.K. Subban-Sidney Crosby bad breath and mouthwash storyline, which was at its zenith in Nashville during the middle of the series.
While Doughty wouldn’t go as far as to say Subban’s antics were made in poor judgment or turned the series in Pittsburgh’s favour, he did question if it was the smartest decision to irk Crosby.
“I understand why P.K. did it. Yeah, you want to get under Sid’s skin and take him out,” Doughty said. “But I think Sid’s kind of the type of guy that you don’t want to piss him off because it’s going to work backwards.”
Regardless how much longer Doughty’s tenure lasts in L.A., there’s no doubt he’s hoping the Kings regain their championship form and get back to the position the Penguins and Predators recently enjoyed.
Despite his disappointment in Sutter and Lombardi no longer being around, Doughty believes they’re in good hands with Stevens and Blake, the former King and Hall of Fame defenceman, running the show.
“These changes were very important for our organization to make,” he said. “Rob Blake’s going to be a great GM. What a player he was. He’s been the face of that organization forever.
“With our new coach being John Stevens, he’s been a guy who’s been there (as an associate coach) for a long time. He still knows that defensive system that we like to play. But we’re going to bring in a whole new offensive system.”
